Daring Bakers - Caramel Cake

November's challenge features Shuna Fish Lydon of Eggbeater and her signature caramel cake with caramelized butter frosting. There's something so appropriate about the rich dark flavor of caramel in this season, something warm and welcoming. Of course, I'm baking under the sunny and cloudless skies of southern California, so it doesn't quite have its autumn feel, but it's a wonderful choice regardless. Thank you to Dolores (Culinary Curiosity), Alex (Brownie of the Blondie and Brownie Duo), and Jenny (Foray into Food) for hosting.

Caramel Cake
From http://blogs.kqed.org/bayareabites/2006 … he-recipe/

10 tbsp unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/3 cup caramel syrup (see below)
2 eggs, at room temperature
a splash vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 cup milk, at room temperature

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease a tall 9" round cake pan.

Beat butter at high speed until light. Add in sugar and salt and cream until airy and fluffy.

Slowly pour room temperature caramel syrup into the butter and sugar mixture. Scrap down bowl and increase speed. Add beaten eggs and vanilla a little at a time, mixing well after each addition. Scrap down bowl again and beat until light and uniform.

Sift together flour and baking powder.

Turn mixer to the lowest setting and add in 1/3 of the flour mixture. Beat until just combined and slowly add in 1/2 of the milk. Beat until incorporated and add in another 1/3 of the flour, the other half of the milk, and finish with the dry ingredients. Use a spatula to do a few last folds, making sure the batter is uniform. Pour batter into the prepared 9" pan, and place pan on a baking sheet.

Bake for 30 minutes. Rotate cake and bake for another 15-20 minutes. The cake is done when the sides pull away from the pan and a toothpick inserted into the midde comes out clean. Cool completely before icing.

Caramel Syrup

2 cups sugar
1/2 cup water
1 cup water (to "stop" the caramel)

In a tall stainless steel saucepan, mix 1/2 cup water with the sugar until mixture resembles wet sand. Brush any stray sugar crystals into the mixture. Turn the heat onto high and cook until smoking slightly. The syrup should be dark amber.

Once color is achieved, slowly add in 1 cup of water. Caramel will sputter and jump, so be very careful. It's helpful to wear oven mitts and to use a lid when adding the water.

Whisk over medium heat until it has reduced slightly. It'll feel sticky on your fingers (make sure caramel has cooled before testing this). The resulting mixture should resemble warmed maple syrup. Store at room temperature for up to a few days (it'll thicken).

Caramelized Butter Frosting

12 tbsp unsalted butter
1 pound confectioner's sugar, sifted
4-6 tbsp heavy cream OR 2-4 tbsp caramel syrup
2 tsp vanilla extract
salt to taste

Melt butter in a pan and cook until brown. Pour through a fine meshed sieve and let cool.

Pour cooled butter into a mixing bowl, add in vanilla, and start adding in confectioner's sugar a little at a time. When mixture looks too chunky to take more, add in some cream or caramel syrup. Repeat until mixture is smooth and all the sugar is incorporated. Salt to taste.

v

Daring Bakers - Pizza!

This month's challenge was hosted by Rosa from Rosa's Yummy Yums and dedicated to the late Sher of What Did You Eat.

We were called upon to make our own crust and to top it with toppings of our choice. I was really excited about this challenge because I love nontraditional toppings and looked forward to the opportunity to make pizza my way. Rosa's recipe from The Bread Baker's Apprentice promised a "tasty, thin, crispy, yet chewy pizza crust". And it delivered. The technique used is cold fermentation with the first rise happening overnight in the fridge. The dough was quick and simple, coming together smoothly by hand. It was extremely elastic and pliable, stretching easily when I went to toss it (something I was really bad at). I've only had the chance to make one pizza, but I still have 7-8 small dough balls in the freezer, so it's going to be a delicious few weeks.

Basic Pizza Dough
Makes 6 pizza crusts (about 9-12 inches)

4 1/2 cups unbleached high-gluten (14%) bread flour or all purpose flour, chilled (I used all purpose)
1 3/4 tsp salt
1 tsp instant yeast
1/4 cup olive oil or vegetable oil (both optional, but better with)
1 3/4 cup water, ice cold
1 tbsp sugar
semolina/durum flour or cornmeal for dusting

Day 1:
In a large bowl, combine the flour, salt, and yeast. Make a well in the middle of the dry ingredients and pour in the water, oil, and sugar. Mix well and then knead to a smooth ball (about 5-7 minutes).

Dust a board and pour some oil into a large bowl. Turn the dough out onto the floured board and cut into 6 pieces, or smaller if you're making smaller pizzas. Coat in oil (especially if you're storing the dough in the freezer) and wrap in plastic. Dough can rest in the fridge for 2-3 days or up to 3 months in the freezer. Just be sure to move the frozen dough to the fridge the night before you plan on making the pizza.

Day 2:
About 2 hours before you're planning on making the pizza, take the dough out of the fridge and place them on a dusted board. Gently press the dough balls into disks about 1/2 inch thick and 5 inches in diameter. Cover lightly and let them rise for 2 hours.

45 minutes before you are ready to make the pizza, preheat the oven to 500 degrees and heat up your pizza stone. If you don't have a pizza stone, a regular baking sheet would work, just don't preheat it. Toss or press the dough into desired size. Sprinkle pizza stone or baking sheet with cornmeal or durum flour and lay the dough on top.

Now go to town with the toppings! Once you've topped to your heart's content (remember that less is usually better in this case), bake in the preheated 500 degrees oven for 8-10 minutes.

I made my personal pizza with:

• Roasted garlic white sauce
• Caramelized onions
• Yellow and green squash
• Mozzarella, Asiago, Provolone, Parmesan shredded cheese blend
• Greek feta crumbles

The roasted garlic white sauce was just a basic roux and milk sauce base with mashed roasted garlic stirred in, seasoned simply with salt and pepper.



The red onions were cut thin, then sauteed in olive oil over low heat until they're soft and caramelized (about 25-30 minutes since I didn't make much). A pinch of salt sped up the process.


The yellow and green squash were cut into thin rounds, rubbed with olive oil, seasoned with salt and pepper, and briefly grilled.

And assemblage:

sauce and 4-cheese blend

caramelized onions go on top

grilled squash and feta cheese


Baked and ready to eat ^^

Daring Bakers - Eclairs

Eclairs. The word rolls off the tongue, smooth and silky, arousing images of Parisian cafes and glass-paneled patisseries, shiny chocolate glaze and luscious swirls of pastry cream.

I remember browsing the pastry case at cake shops, looking at the beautifully crafted fruit tarts and lusting after the dark mysteries of chocolate torte. Eclairs drew my eyes though, as something always constant, always delicious.

I remember going to Costco and buying the frozen cream puffs or eclairs filled with Bavarian cream. It was always a question of just how many I will allow myself to have in one sitting. They suggested serving them slightly thawed. But I always preferred them right out of the freezer, liking the way the cold cream warms and melts on my tongue.

Therefore, I was ecstatic to learn that this week's challenge is eclairs. And the recipe is from none other than the remarkable Pierre Herme. Of course, I put off making them until the very end. *sigh* Everything came together nicely though. There's a batch of baked puffs cooling right now, waiting to be filled.

I made the dough on Friday. It was quick and painless, very very cooperative. I don't think the dough was as loose as the recipe saids it should be, but it still turned out well nonetheless. I realized as I grabbed my piping set that I had lost a coupler for my tips, so I couldn't use the giant tip I bought and was so excited to use. Instead I spooned the puff dough onto the baking sheet, and made them quite a bit larger than I probably should have. I let them bake an extra 5-10 minutes longer to compensate. I made a third of the dough into long eclairs shape, and spooned the rest in round dollops for cream puffs. I froze those and baked them after thawing this morning.

The pastry cream recipe I followed to a T and finally broke the curse of the lumpy pastry cream that has haunted me...since I started baking. It was delicious and very easy to make. I kept things simple with vanilla and chocolate, but there's plenty of room for experimentation.

I actually didn't make the listed chocolate glaze recipe. I still had ganache in the fridge from my chocolate caramel tartlettes so I heated some of that with a bit of whole milk. Once the mixture has cooled slightly, I spooned that onto the top of my eclairs.


Cream Puff Dough:
1/2 cup whole milk
1/2 cup water
1 stick unsalted butter, cut into 8 pieces
1/4 tsp sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup all-purpose flour
5 large eggs

In a medium sauce pan, bring milk, water, butter, sugar, and salt to a boil.

Once the mixture is at a rolling boil, turn the heat down to medium and add all the flour in at once. Stir the mixture vigorously with a wooden spoon. The dough should come together very quickly. Do not worry if a slight crust forms at the bottom of the pan, it's suppose to happen. Keep stirring a further 2-3 minutes to dry the dough. At this time, the dough will be very soft and smooth.

Transfer the dough into a bowl. With a wooden spoon or better yet, a electric mixture, beat in the eggs one at a time, waiting until the previous one has been incorporated into the dough. The dough may separate during this process, but at the end should come together, leaving you with a thick and shiny dough.

While the dough is warm, spoon or pipe 4 to 4 1/2 inch chubby fingers onto a baking sheet, leaving 2 inches of space to allow them room to puff. Bake in a preheated 375 degrees oven for 7 minutes. After 7 minutes, slip the handle of a wooden spoon into the oven door to keep it slightly ajar and bake for another 5 minutes. Rotate the pan at this time and bake a further 8 minutes. The total baking time should be approximately 20 minutes. The eclairs should be puffed, golden, firm, and hollow-sounding when tapped.

Pastry Cream:
2 cups whole milk
4 large egg yolks
6 tbsp sugar
3 tbsp cornstarch, sifted
2 1/2 tbsp unsalted butter, cut into 4 pieces

3 1/2 oz bittersweet chocolate, melted (for half the pastry cream)
1 tsp vanilla extract (for half the pastry cream)

In a medium saucepan, bring milk to boil. In the meantime, whisk together egg yolks, sugar, and cornstarch. Still whisking the yolk mixture, slowly drizzle in about half of the boiling milk. This will temper the eggs. Strain the yolk and milk mixture back into the saucepan (on medium heat) to remove any bits of scrambled eggs and whisk vigorously until the mixture thickens. Continue whisking for 1 to 2 more minutes.

At this point, you can add in your flavorings. I split the pastry cream in 2 and added melted chocolate to one and vanilla extract to the other. Once the flavorings are incorporated, take the pan off the heat and cooled the cream in ice water. Stir in the butter in 3 to 4 installments, and continue stirring until the cream is completely cooled. Store in the fridge until ready to fill.

Chocolate Glaze:
1/3 cup heavy cream
3 1/2 oz bittersweet chocolate
4 tsp unsalted butter, cut into 4 pieces, at room temperature
7 tbsp chocolate sauce (see below), warm or at room temperature

In a small saucepan, bring the heavy cream to a boil. Remove from the heat and slowly add in the chocolate, stirring with a wooden spoon or a spatula. Stir in butter, piece by piece, followed by chocolate sauce.

Chocolate Sauce:
4 1/2 oz bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
1 cup water
1/2 cup creme fraiche, or heavy cream
1/3 cup sugar

Place all ingredients in a saucepan and bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Reduce the heat to low and continue stirring with a wooden spoon until the sauce thickens. The sauce is done when it coats the back of your spoon (may take 10-15 minutes).

To Assemble:
Once the eclairs (or puffs) have cooled, slice them horizontally in half, using a serrated knife. Set aside the bottoms while you glaze the top. Spread the barely warm chocolate glaze on top of the eclairs using a knife or metal icing spatula. Will the glaze set, fill the bottom with pastry cream.

Daring Bakers - Danish Braid (chocolate croissants, etc.)

Finally. I'm sorry I'm so so late for June's challenge. I've been busy getting settled with my internship, continuing with Taekwondo and starting Judo. I've also ran out of eggs and sugar (how is that possible in my kitchen?!) I finally finished the laminated dough yesterday and assembled and baked the pastries today.

I was really excited for this challenge. I love croissants and danishes and I looked forward to playing around with different flavor combinations. I've been leery of making laminated dough before because of the sheer amount of butter involved. But after making buttercream that calls for 3 sticks of butter, 2 doesn't seem so bad ^.*

I made enough dough for 2 whole danish braids, but I'm taking my time baking them off. I know if I bake it all, I'll also eat it all. I used a third of the dough today for 2 small braids, 2 mini plain croissants, a chocolate croissant, and a pinwheel danish. I filled some of them with the caramel apple filling and the rest with bittersweet chocolate. The chocolate filling was just a small block of Belgian bittersweet chocolate. Once the chocolate croissant and braid had cooled a bit, I drizzled them with melted bittersweet chocolate. OMG, so good. I have to give the rest away before I eat it all.

For the dough (detrempe):
Makes 2-1/2 pounds dough

For detrempe:

1 tbsp active yeast
1/2 cup whole milk (I used 2%)
1/3 cup sugar
zest of 1 orange, finely grated (omitted)
zest of 1 lemon, finely grated (omitted)
3/4 tsp ground cardamom (omitted)
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 vanilla bean, split and scraped (omitted)
2 large eggs, chilled, lightly beaten
1/4 cup fresh orange juice
3 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp salt

For beurrage (butter block):

2 sticks cold unsalted butter
1/4 cup all-purpose flour


To make dough:

Detrempe (direction for manual method):

• Combine yeast and milk in a bowl. Add in beaten egg, orange juice, sugar, vanilla, cardamom, vanilla bean, and zest. Mix until well blended.
  
• In another bowl sift together flour and salt. Make a well in the center and pour in the wet ingredients.
  
• Bring the flour into the wet mixture. Knead until smooth (about 5 minutes). Add more flour if it is sticky (the feel of the dough depends on the humidity). Transfer the dough ball into a floured board and pat into a rectangle. Wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Beurrage:

• Cut butter into small cubes or grate using a box grater
  
• Combine butter and flour in a bowl with high sides and beat until smooth and lump-free
  
• I cubed my butter and tried to use a hand-held electric mixer on it. I got flying pieces of butter everywhere. So instead I mashed the butter into the flour with the back of a spoon, then used the mixer to smooth it out at the end. Set aside at room temperature for 30 minutes.
  

To make laminated dough:

• After the detrempe has chilled for 30 minutes, turn it out onto a slightly floured surface. Roll the dough into a 18x13 inch rectangle (approximately 1/4 inch thick).
  
• Spread the butter on the right 2/3 of the dough. Fold the left 1/3 (the portion without butter) to the right, covering half the butter. Fold the right 1/3 of the rectangle over the center third. You should never fold butter onto itself. This is the first turn. Wrap the rectangle and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
  
• Place the dough lengthwise on a floured surface (the short ends should be to your left and right). Roll the dough into another 18x13 inch rectangle (approximately 1/4 inch thick) Again, fold the left 1/3 over the center third and the right 1/3 over the center third. This is the second turn. Wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
  
• Repeat the process two more times for a total of 4 turns. After the final turn, refrigerate the dough for 5 hours or overnight. If not using the dough within 24 hours, wrap tightly in plastic and freeze. Defrost the dough in the refrigerator for easy handling.
  

Caramel Apple Filling
Makes enough for 2 braids

4 Fuji or other apples, peeled, cored, and sliced into 1/4 inch pieces
1/2 cup sugar (I used brown sugar)
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 vanilla bean, split and scraped (omitted)
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice (I used orange)
4 tbsp unsalted butter

Heat the butter in a pan over medium heat until slightly brown and nutty. Add the sliced apples, sugar, cinnamon, vanilla, and lemon juice. Saute for 10-15 minutes until apples are softened and the butter sugar mixture has reduced to coat the apple slices in luscious strands. Let the apples cool completely before using as a filling (and try to avoid eating all of them). Leftover apples can be used as a topping for ice cream, cheesecake, oatmeal, or just eaten straight out of the bowl.



Danish Braid

1/2 recipe of the above danish dough
1 cup apple filling, jam, preserves, etc.
1 large egg, plus 1 large egg yolk (for egg wash)

To assemble:

• Roll danish dough into a 15x20 rectangle (1/4 inch thick). Place on a parchment-papered baking sheet to assemble.
  
• Along the long side of the pasty, make parallel, 5-inch-long cuts, each about 1-inch apart, making sure to line up the cuts with the other side.
  
• Spoon the filling of your choice down the center of the rectangle.
  
• Starting with the top and bottom "flaps", fold the top flat down and the bottom flat up to cover the filling. Next fold the side strips over the filling, alternating left and right, until finished.
  
• Beat together the whole egg and yolk in a bowl. Using a pastry brush, lightly coat the braid.
  
• I was out of eggs by this point, so I just brushed the pastries with milk.

To Proof and Bake:

• Spray cooking oil onto a piece of plastic wrap, and place over the braid. Proof at room temperature for about 2 hours, or until doubled in volume and light to the touch. My braid didn't rise too much during this process.
  
• Near the end of proofing, preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Position a rack in the center of the oven.
• Bake for 10 minutes, then rotate the pan so that the side of the braid previously in the back of the oven is now in the front. Lower the oven temperature to 350 degrees and bake about 15- 20 minutes more, or until golden brown. The baking time will be shortened if you are making smaller braids or danishes.
  
• Since my braids and danishes were smaller, I only baked them for 8-10 minutes after reducing the temperature.
  
• Cool and serve the braid either warm from the oven or at room temperature.
  

fold left 1/3 over middle 1/3

fold right 1/3 over middle 1/3

Daring Bakers - L'Opera ~ the scent of coconut

What a challenge!

When I read about this month's challenge - a traditional French Opera cake - I nearly clapped my hands in glee. Now this was the stuff I wanted to make - beautiful, elegant, complex, a multi-stepped whirlwind of a challenge. There were the layers of jaconde soaked with syrup, buttercream, chocolate mousse, and chocolate ganache, all with the potential to go terribly wrong. Because May is liveSTRONG month, the cakes were suppose to be yellow or light in color. I decided to go with coconut, almond, and vanilla.

The jaconde, an almond genoise made with almond meal and leavened with beaten egg whites, was light and delicate. I made my own almond meal, so the texture was perhaps not as fine as it should have been. But I rather like slightly coarse feel of the cake. I left this base flavored simply with vanilla, choosing to incorporate my flavorings into the other components. My problem with this portion of the recipe was that it stuck horribly ot the pan. I accidently forgot to put down parchment paper, and despite having buttered the pan generously, the cake needed a lot of coaxing to come out. Note to self, next time a recipe calls for parchment paper, don't forget it. I brushed on a syrup flavored with coconut cream.

The French buttercream didn't come out as well as the Swiss buttercream from Dorie Greenspan's party cake recipe. While smooth on the palate, it was too loose coming together. I prefer a firmer buttercream to work with. I flavored this with also with coconut cream and vanilla.

The white chocolate mousse was just plain delicious. Melted Ghiradelli white chocolate lightened with freshly whipped cream, flavored with coconut - it tasted like a Ferroro's Raffaello. I also made a white chocolate ganache to top the cake. However, I felt the combination of the mousse and ganache was too much. Because the traditional L'opera cake is made with the darker chocolates and flavored with coffee, it is less cloying, with the bitterness of the chocolate and coffee balancing the sweetness of the other ingredients.

Overall, I felt very proud of myself for accomplishing this challenge. I like producing something delicious from my kitchen, but I also love the entire process - making the different components, tasting as I go along, assembling.

Daring Bakers - Dorie Greenspan's Perfect Party Cake

I had a great time with this recipe. It was simple, straightforward, and most importantly, delicious. The cake itself was light and buttery, with the gentle whisper of vanilla and lemon. The swiss meringue came together beautifully. It was rich but not cloying, silky on the tongue, and sweet on the palate. I made some alteration to the original recipe and those are in parenthesis.

Words from Dorie
Stick a bright-coloured Post-it to this page, so you’ll always know where to turn for a just-right cake for any celebration. The original recipe was given to me by my great dear friend Nick Malgieri, of baking fame, and since getting it, I’ve found endless opportunities to make it – you will too. The cake is snow white, with an elegant tight crumb and an easygoing nature: it always bakes up perfectly; it is delicate on the tongue but sturdy in the kitchen – no fussing when it comes to slicing the layers in half or cutting tall, beautiful wedges for serving; and, it tastes just as you’d want a party cake to taste – special. The base recipe is for a cake flavoured with lemon, layered with a little raspberry jam and filled and frosted with a classic (and so simple) pure white lemony hot-meringue buttercream but, because the elements are so fundamental, they lend themselves to variation (see Playing Around), making the cake not just perfect, but also versatile.

Perfect Party Cake

For the Cake:
2 1/4 cup cake flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt (omitted because of the salted butter)
1 ¼ cups whole milk
4 large egg whites
1 ½ cups sugar
2 teaspoons grated lemon zest
1 stick unsalted butter, at room temperature (salted butter because that was all I had)
½ teaspoon pure lemon extract (omitted and replaced with vanilla extract)

For the Buttercream
1 cup sugar
4 large egg whites
3 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

For Finishing
2/3 cup seedless raspberry preserves stirred vigorously or warmed gently until spreadable
About 1 ½ cups sweetened shredded coconut

Getting Ready
Centre a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter two 9 x 2 inch round cake pans and line the bottom of each pan with a round of buttered parchment or wax paper. Put the pans on a baking sheet.

To Make the Cake
Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt. Whisk together the milk and egg whites in a medium bowl. Put the sugar and lemon zest in a mixer bowl or another large bowl and rub them together with your fingers until the sugar is moist and fragrant. Add the butter and working with the paddle or whisk attachment, or with a hand mixer, beat at medium speed for a full 3 minutes, until the butter and sugar are very light. Beat in the extract, then add one third of the flour mixture, still beating on medium speed. Beat in half of the milk-egg mixture, then beat in half of the remaining dry ingredients until incorporated. Add the rest of the milk and eggs beating until the batter is homogeneous, then add the last of the dry ingredients. Finally, give the batter a good 2- minute beating to ensure that it is thoroughly mixed and well aerated. Divide the batter between the two pans and smooth the tops with a rubber spatula.

Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until the cakes are well risen and springy to the touch – a thin knife inserted into the centers should come out clean. Transfer the cakes to cooling racks and cool for about 5 minutes, then run a knife around the sides of the cakes, unfold them and peel off the paper liners. Invert and cool to room temperature, right side up (the cooled cake layers can be wrapped airtight and stored at room temperature overnight or frozen for up to two months).

To Make the Buttercream
Put the sugar and egg whites in a mixer bowl or another large heatproof bowl, fit the bowl over a plan of simmering water and whisk constantly, keeping the mixture over the heat, until it feels hot to the touch, about 3 minutes. The sugar should be dissolved, and the mixture will look frothy and like shiny marshmallow cream. Remove the bowl from the heat. Working with the whisk attachment or with a hand mixer, beat the meringue on medium speed until it is cool, about 5 minutes. Switch to the paddle attachment if you have one, and add the butter a stick at a time, beating until smooth. Once all the butter is in, beat in the buttercream on medium-high speed until it is thick and very smooth, 6-10 minutes. During this time the buttercream may curdle or separate – just keep beating and it will come together again. On medium speed, gradually beat in the lemon juice, waiting until each addition is absorbed before adding more, and then the vanilla. You should have a shiny smooth, velvety, pristine white buttercream. Press a piece of plastic against the surface of the buttercream and set aside briefly.


To Assemble the Cake
Using a sharp serrated knife and a gentle sawing motion, slice each layer horizontally in half. Put one layer cut side up on a cardboard cake round or a cake plate protected by strips of wax or parchment paper. Spread it with one third of the preserves. Cover the jam evenly with about one quarter of the buttercream. Top with another layer, spread with preserves and buttercream and then do the same with a third layer (you’ll have used all the jam and have buttercream leftover). Place the last layer cut side down on top of the cake and use the remaining buttercream to frost the sides and top. Press the coconut into the frosting, patting it gently all over the sides and top.

Storage
The cake is best eaten at room temperature a few hours after assemblage, since it loses all subtlety of flavor if eaten cold. If you used whipped cream, store in the refrigerator and bring it out to warm to room temperature for 20 minutes before serving.


My notes:
Originally I had planned to use freshly whipped cream for the layers and frost the outside with the buttercream, but somehow my whipped cream refused to stay stiff and fell apart in a liquidity mess (not very appetizing). Since I only made half the buttercream recipe, I had to skimp a little on the frosting. I also layered in sliced fresh strawberries and covered the sides of the cake with shredded coconut. Another thing to note is that the cake does not rise very much. When I went to slice it in half horizontally, I was met with complete disaster. I already knew I pretty much suck at doing that, but I tried anyways, and ended up with a hole in one layer and too much cake in the other. So I did some patchwork and used those as the middle and the top layer. I intelligently decided to not slice the other cake, and used that as the bottom layer.

All in all, it was a successful challenge. The cake was well-received and I had a great time.

Daring Bakers - Julia Child's French Bread

The weather up at Berkeley has been temperamental. It's been a week of sun, a week of rain, a week of sun, cycle repeats. This weekend, unfortunately, was rain. I prefer working with yeast when it's warm outside, but since time is running out for this month's challenge, I made the bread to the sound of falling rain.

The process wasn't hard and since I like making bread, I had an enjoyable time. I have to admit though, I've never made anything so time intensive. I started at 9:30 in the morning, finished the first rise around 1:30pm, the second by 3:30, shaped the loaves and let them rise until 5:30, and finished baking them off at 6:45. I went out to dinner (since I couldn't eat the darn thing yet), and sampled the bread at around midnight.

The looks of them weren't beautiful, which is why I only have one shot of the somewhat decent-looking boule. I've never free-formed bread before; it's a lot harder than it looks. The taste though, that mattered more.

I whipped out the bread knife, pulled it through the golden crispy crust, smelled the delicious yeastiness perfuming the air, and took a look at the fruits of my labor. Webs of white, lots of holes, just like the bread I buy from Acme Breads. I popped a slice into the toaster oven, waiting impatiently as the slice turned golden. Mmmm...crispy crust, warm chewy crumb, slightly salty....it was wonderful. And I sliced some more...and some more...It's amazing how yeast, water, flour, and salt - four simple ingredients - can produce such a tasty morsel.

Julia Child's French Bread
It's a long recipe, so I linked it...




Flour, yeast, salt, and water all mixed and kneaded, waiting for the first rise










After the first rise














I let the dough rise in an warm oven (turn it on to 150 degree, turn it off, and maintain the temperature at around 70 degrees) because it was so cold that day. The dough rose beautifully the first two times. It didn't rise as much after I shaped the dough though (not three times the size, as the recipe said). I also had problems transferring the dough from the rising sheet and my baking sheet (I'll probably just use the same one next time). That was why my batard looked so ugly (tasty as it was, it was sadly deformed). The boule and rolls looked better, though I had issues slashing the top (my knife wasn't sharp enough).

All in all, my first challenge was successful. I had a lot of fun and the recipe turned out really well. I can't wait for next month :)